Goa celebrates Sao Joao festival

Tags: State News

Sao Joao is an annual Catholic festival celebrated in an unusual way in Goa every year on 23 June.

• IMPORTANT FACTS -

• Sao Joao is also known as St. John the Baptist.

• Catholic men jump into the water to find gifts thrown into wells, ponds and rivers to pay tribute to St. John the Baptist.

• This festival is celebrated every year in June to mark the beginning of the season.

• People wear crowns of fresh fruits and wild flowers traditionally called 'kopels' to celebrate the occasion.

• About Goa -

• Goa is the smallest state in India by area and the fourth smallest by population.

• The Portuguese ruled Goa for about 450 years and it was handed over to the Indian administration on 19 December 1961.

• Panaji, the capital of Goa, is situated on the banks of the Mandovi river.

• Governor- PS Sreedharan

• Chief Minister- Pramod Sawant

• Assembly seat - 40

• Rajya Sabha Seat-1

• Lok Sabha seat - 2